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Henge
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Details of henge on Pastscape
A sub-circular henge monument defined by two concentric ditches with a bank between them. The monument survives partly as earthworks and partly as cropmarks. The internal diameter of the bank is circa 112 metres, thus enclosing around 0.9 hectares. The presence and location of entrances is uncertain, with parts of the bank, ditches and interior obscured by buildings and a minor road. Watching briefs were undertaken in 1938 (roadside water main) and 1952-3 (building operations) confirmed the presence of internal and external ditches but failed to recover any dating evidence. Two small areas within the henge were excavated in 1977 in advance of building work, and a section dug across the inner ditch. The interior cotnained recent and natural features, although some flint flakes were found in the upper fills of some of the latter. The inner ditch was near vertical-sided, flat-bottomed, and measured 4.2 metres wide and 2.4 metres deep below modern ground level. The ditch fill included pottery (possibly Beaker), animal bones, charcoal and burnt stones, much of it apparently representing a deliberate act of deposition from the henge interior. Two radiocarbon dates were obtained from charcoal and burnt wood, both falling in the 18th century bc (uncalibrated), suggesting the possibility of a later Neolithic origin. Roman pottery came from the upper fill (and a single Iron Age sherd hade been reported on an earlier occasion). A watching brief in 1991 observed only modern finds, while another in 1992 along the course of the Condicote to Lasborough Sewer noted pit-like features immediately northwest of the henge in a geophysical survey. In addition, short irregular linear features adjacent to the bank on the west side were suggested to represent the remnants of a discontinuous outer ditch mirroring the more complete outer ditch visible on the east side.
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Posted by Chance
10th June 2014ce
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